Clockcase construction



March 14, 1950 E. M. PATTERSON ET AL CLOCK CASE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 5, 1946 INVENTO EVERETTM PATTERN WILL/AM KLEIN ATT).

Patented Mar. 14, 1950 CLOCKCASE CONSTRUCTION Everett M. Patterson, Watertown, Conn., and

William Klein, Forest Hills, N. Y., assignors to The United States Time Corporation, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application July 3, 1946, Serial No. 681,362

2 Claims. (Cl. 58-54) This invention relates in general to clock structures and is more particularly concerned with the outer casing which houses the movement of the clock.

It has been the practice in the past to make clock cases in two parts which are telescoped together and held in place by screws or bolts. This practice required that holes be provided in thetelescoping parts of the clock case, and it was necessary that these holes be aligned before the screws or bolts could be put into place. In the case of a round clock, it was often somewhat dlfllcult to properly align these holes. Furthermore, the heads of the screws or bolts which held the two parts of the clock case together protruded from the outside of the case making an unsightly and sometimes unsymmetrical appearance.

It is the object of this invention to provide a clock case having two parts Which are held together without any visible screws or bolts.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a clock case which may be easily and readily assembled without the use of visible screws or bolts, and' at the same time provide a means whereby the two parts of the casing may be readily taken apart for purposes of cleaning or otherwise.

Referring now to the drawing for a complete dis-closure of one specific embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of the clock of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a detail view of part of the means for securing the two parts of the casing together.

Fig. 3 is a detail of another part of the fastenlng means.

Fig; 4 is a view of the assembled clock in the process of being disassembled.

Referring now to Fig. l, the movement of the clock is indicated generally at 2 with the usual pillars being indicated at 4. The movement cover oi. the clock is shown at 5 and, as seen in Fig. l, the movement 2 is secured within the movement cover 6 by having the pillars 4 extend through openings 8 in the back of the movement cover. Rubber grommets are provided in the opening 8 to lessen the vibration transmitted by the movements to the movement cover 6. Nuts I0 are provided to secure the pillars 4 firmly to the movement cover 6.

The particular clock chosen for illustration is an alarm clock and the clapper is indicated in Fig. 1 at l2 extending through an opening l4 in the movement cover. While the clock shown for purposes of illustration is an alarm clock, this particular invention is equally applicable to other types of clocks. If the clock did not have an alarm, the opening l4 would, of course, not be provided inthe movement cover 6 and the movement cover would be the back of the clock. Under these circumstances, however, the shape of the movement cover would probably be different from here shown to present a more attractive appearance.

The movement cover 6 is provided around its outer edge with a flange l6 having notches l3 cut therein at two points, one near either side of the top of the clock for a. purpose to be presently described. The flange I6 is also provided with two small holes 28 near the bottom thereof.

The alarm bell 22 is provided on its inner side with a bracket 24 spot welded to the bell at 26. The bracket 24 is provided with a plurality of ears 1 2B which extend through openings or slots provided therefore in the movement cover 6. After the ears 28 are exetended through the slots in the movement cover, they are twisted so that the bell 22 will be firmly attached to the movement cover 6. The bracket 24 is provided with openings 30 which in assembled condition of the clock receive the nuts [0 and ends of the pillars 4. Thus it will be seen that no screws, studs, or bolts are visible when the clock is viewed from the back; other than the necessary control and winding knobs.

The crystal of the clock is indicated at 32 and is held in place by the bezel. The bezel 34 is provided with a flange 36 which in assembled condition of the clock telescopes snugly around the flange [6 of the movement cover 6. The flange 36 is provided with indentations 38. When the. movement cover 6 and the bezel 34 are fitted to gether, the indentations 38 will snap into thenotches [8 cut into the flange It of the movement case and hold the two members in assembled condition. In order that the clock may be,

taken apart for cleaning or other purposes, a.

notch 40 is provided in the flange 36 of the bezel,

leaving a space 42 between the bottom of the notch 40 and the flange It of the movement coverconform closely to a portion of the periphery of the clock. The base 48 is provided with a pair of holes 50 which are adapted to receive screws 52.

Exclusive of the bell, which as previously stated may be eliminated in some instances, the clock is assembled in a manner which will now be described. The pillars 4 of the movement are extended through the holes 8 in the back of the movement cover and the nuts it are then screwed on the ends of the pillars to hold the movement and the movement cover together. The flange 36 of the bezel 34 is then placed around the flange [6 of the movement cover and the two members are squeezed together until the indentations 38 snap into the notches it in a manner which will readily be understood. At this time, the holes 20 in the flange it of the movement cover will be aligned with the openings 46 in the flange 36 of the bezel as seen in Fig. 3. It will here be noted that the openings 43 are elongated and that the notches 28 are also elongated so that the bezel 34 and movement cover may be secured together Without requiring the various fastening means be perfectly all .ed has been customary in the past in structures wherein circular screw 1.

holes were used. After the bezel 34 and the move ment cover 8 have thus been secured together, the base 48, which has a concave seat Ml therefor, receives the case in such manner as to completely cover the notch 49 and slot 42 between the flange 36 of the bezel and the movement cover 6. The holes 59 are then readily aligned perfectly with the holes 20 in the flange l5 and the screws 52 are then passed through the openings 50 in. the base and the openings 46 in the flange of the bezel and are screwed into the holes 28 in the flange of the movement cover 6 thus holding the two parts of the casing and the base in assembled position. In the particular construction shown, the screws 52 are of the self-- tapping variety the holes 29 in the flange 16 are not threaded, though it will readily be appreciated that other types of screws may be used and the holes may be threaded if desired without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Thus it will be seen that a clock case has been provided which is held together by the two indentations 38 and the two screws The screwswhich hold the two parts of the casing together are not visible when the clock is in the normal. position and are only accessible from underneath the base of the clock. The only visible means for securing the two parts of the casing together arethe indentations which are inconspicuously' small, do not protrude outwardl from the periphery oi the case, and do not detract from the beauty and symmetry of the clock.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in its preferred embodiment and has included certain details, it should be understood. that the invention is not to be limited to the precise details herein illustrated and described since the same may be carried out in other ways, i'alling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What we claim is:

1. A clock case comprising a movement cover having a flange around the edge thereof and a. bezel having a flange telescoping over the flange of said movement cover, a plurality of interengaging means on said flanges to hold said movement cover and said bezel in telescoping relation, said means being spaced from each other and positioned in the upper portion of said case, a notch in the lower portion of the flange of said bezel cut inward to such an extent that a space is provided into which an instrument may be inserted between the base of the notch and the flange of the movement cover to pry said movement cover and said bezel apart; in combination with a base for said clock case, and screws connecting said base to the lower portion of the bezel and the flange of said movement cover, said bezel and base and movement cover flange having aligned openings to receive said screws.

2. A case for a substantially round clock comprising a movement cover having a circular flange around the edge thereof and a bezel having a circular flange telescoping over the flange of said movement cover, a plurality of interengaging means on said flanges positioned in the upper portion of said flanges and spaced from each other to hold said movement cover and said bezel in telescoping relation, the flange of said bezel having a notch in the bottom portion thereof cut inward to such an extent that a space is provided into which an instrument may be inserted between the base of the notch and the flange of the movement cover to pry said movement cover and said bezel apart, said flange of the bezel also having an opening therein adjacent each side of said notch; in combination with a base for said clock case, said base being of such shape as to generally conform to the bottom of the bezel and completely cover the notch in the flange of said bezel and having a pair of screw receiving openings therein juxtaposed the openings in the flange of said bezel, and a pair of screws extending through the openings in the base and in the flange oi the bezel and screwing tightly into the flange of said movement cover to maintain said case parts and base assembled.

EVERETT M. PATTERSON. WILLIAM KLEIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file or this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 748,679 Woodruff et a1 Jan. 5, 1904 1,905,655 Simpson Apr. 25, 1933 2,090,370 Lu c' Aug, 1'7, 193'! FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 274,297 Italy May 16, 1930 

